Minister Hue praised the level of financial cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in the recent past, adding that Japan is the largest provider of non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam .

He said the ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are working together to draw up a cooperation plan for the period 2012-2015 to strengthen the management capacity of the ODA, public investments and public finance issues.

Later the same day, Finance Minister Hue met with the Japanese General Director of Customs Atsuo Shibota, where they discussed measures to create a joint e-customs system based on Japan ’s Nippon Automated Customs Clearance (NACCS).

Both governments have now agreed to carry out the e-customs project and are applying a national single-window customs system.

Minister Hue said the project will help Vietnam to develop e-customs and implement a one-stop customs system that links Vietnam with other ASEAN countries.

It will also help to increase bilateral trade between Vietnam and Japan and create better conditions for foreign investors./.